Gauge and elector for heel shaping machines



Dec. 29, 1953 g, BUTLER 2,664,125

GAUGE AND EJECTOR FOR HEEL. SHAPING MACHINES Filed Oct. 13, 1950 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. EflMl/IVD- c. 8071. 52,

ATTOENEYS,

Dec. 29, 1953 s. c. BUTLER GAUGE AND EJECTOR FOR HEEL SHAPING MKCHINESFiled 001;. 13, 1950 FIG. 4.

INVENTOR. 0MuA/0 c. a'un eve,

Patented Dec. 29, 1953 GAUGE AND EJECTOR FOR HEEL SHAPING MACHINESEdmund 0. Butler, St. Louis, Mo.,. assignor of one-half to UniversalWood Heel 00., St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri ApplicationOctober 13, 1950, Serial No. 189,994

3 Claims.

shaping machine and acts as an ejector for the heel when the shaped heelis released from the machine.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide an attachment for aheel shaping machine which is actuated by the machine when the latter isoperated to engage a heel blank andto release a shaped heel to positionthe attachment for use as a gauge or stop when a blank is being placed.in the machine and to eject the shaped heel from the machine when themachine is operated to release the heel, which can be easily mounted onan existing heel shaping machine with no material modification of themachine construction, which is automatically operated by operation ofthe machine to engage and release a heel, and which is simple anddurable in construction, economical tomanufacture, and positive andeffective in operation. 7

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a considerationof the following description and the appended claims in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the upper or head portion of aheel shaping machine with an attachment illustrative of the inventionoperatively mounted thereon;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the machine portion andattachment illustrated in Figure 1; p

Figure 3- is a top plan view of the machine portion and attachment;

Figure-4 is aside elevational view of the machine portion and attachmentlooking at the opposite side from'that illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of one component of-theattachment;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the complementary portion of theattachment; 7

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 2, but showing the parts in adifferent operative position from that illustrated in Figure 2;

;-Fi ure a is a viewsimila t ure 2 and'Y, but showing the parts in astill different operative position; and V 1 Figure-.9 is a fragmentaryperspective view of a part of the head portion of the heel shapingmachine.-- v r r iwithcontinued reference to the drawings, the

heel shaping machine illustrated may be of well 2 Y known construction,a machine of this character being illustrated and described in PatentNo. 2,062,416 granted December 1, 1936 to M. W. Howard, for Heel TurningMachine and assigned to the Pope Machinery Corporation, of Haverhill,Massachusetts.

The machine head illustrated comprises a-post l0 mounted in a carriage Hand. supporting. a bracket l2 above the carriage. A lower jaw frame 13is adjustably mounted on the bracket I 2 and carries a lower-jaw [4 inthe form of a flat plate having detents IS on its upper side forengaging one end surface of a shoewheel blank to be shaped in themachine. A standard I6 is adjustably mounted on the lower jaw frame I3by suitable means, such as the bolt I71, and, pin [8 and an upper jawframe i9 is pivotally mounted on the standard [6 above the lower jawframe 13 and carries an upper jaw 20 disposed above and opposed to thelower jaw I4. The upper jaw frame is pivotally secured to the standardby suitable means, such as the pivot bolt 2l,.for pivotal movement aboutan axis extending transversely of the standard I6. e

A handle 22 is pivotally connected to the standard l 6 near one end ofthe handle by an adjustable pivotal connection including a 'saddle23slidable in slots 24 and 25 provided in the standard near the upper endthereof and adiustably movable in the slots by a hand screw 26 threadedthrough a nut 21 carried by the standard l6 at the upper end of thestandard and-a pivot pin 9 extending through regi tering apertures inthe handle near one end thereof and in the opposite ends of the saddle.'The hand screw is used-t0 adjust the spacing between the upper andlower jaws 20 and I4 when in heel clamping relationship and the handleis movable about an axis sub tantially parallel to the axis of pivotalmovement of the upper jaw frame [9.

When the handle is in its uppermost position the corner 8 of the handleat thepivoted end of the handle-and neare t the upper jaw frame 19 isreceived in a notch l in the upper edge of the upper jaw framepermitting the upper law to be I displaced upwardly from the lower jaw;When the handle is moved downwardly the corner 8 of the handle is movedout of the notch I and onto the adjacent surface of the up er jaw frameforc ing the upper -,iaw*downwardly toward the lower jaw to clam aheel-blank between the jaws and releasably locking *the upper jawinclamping position relative to the lower jaw." 'When the handle ismanually moved upwardly releasing the upper jaw, the upper jaw is thenraised away from the lower jaw by suitable means, such as the tensionspring 21 connected between the upper jaw frame and the standard l6 atthe upper end of the latter.

When a heel blank is clamped in proper position between the upper andlower jaws of the machine, the carriage l I moves the machine head withthe blank therein past suitable rotating cutters which shape the heelblank to the desired heel shape in a manner well known to the art.Machines of this character are used principally for shaping wooden highheels and wedge heels for ladies shoes.

Operation of machines of this character require highly skilled operatorssince the existing machines provide no means for accurately positioningthe heel blank between the jaws of the machine laterally of the jaws,although a guide 28 is usually provided on the lower jaw frame adjacentthe inner side of the lower jaw for engaging the wedge end of the heel.Even with the guide 28, great skill and considerable time is required toproperly position the heel in the jaws so that the heel will be evenlyshaped on both sides by the cutters and will have a symmetrical shapewith no fiat areas.

With the existing machines it is also necessary for the operator tomanually remove the finished heel from the machine before he can inserta new blank between the machine jaws. This is also a time consumingoperation which tends to reduce the productive capacity of the machine.

Means are provided for assisting the operator in rapidly positioning theblank in the correct position between the jaws of the machine and forautomatically ejecting the finished heel from the machine when the jawsare relatively moved to release the heel.

A bar 30 is pivotally mounted intermediate its length on one side of thestandard l6 near the upper end of the standard by a pivot bolt 3| forrocking movements about an axis substantially parallel to the axis ofmovement of the upper jaw frame [9 and the handle 22. This bar has nearone end a longitudinally extending slot 32 and a pin 33 projectsoutwardly from the adjacent side of the handle 22 and is received in theslot 32 to rock the bar about the pivot bolt 3! when the handle israised and lowered to release and engage a shoe heel between the upperand lower jaws of the machine.

A bracket 34 of channel shaped cross section is secured to the bar 30near the end of the bar remote from the slot 32 and is disposedsubstantially perpendicular to the bar, extending outwardly of the upperedge of the bar remote from the upper jaw frame Hi. This bracketprovides spaced apart flanges or legs and an arm 35 of channel shapedcross section is received in the bracket 34 and is pivotally connectedto the bracket near the upper end of the arm by a pivot pin 35 extendingthrough registering apertures provided in the bracket legs near theupper or outer end of the bracket and in the arm 35.

A flat, rectangular head 31 is provided on the upper end of the arm 35and extends from the arm in a direction past the bracket 34 and bar 30and atip or pad 38 of stiff, resilient material, such as vulcanizedrubber or synthetic resin plastic, is secured to the arm 35 near itslower end and extends downwardly below the lower end of the arm. 4

A U-shaped bracket 39 is disposed at the side of the bar 30 to which thebracket 34 is attached and is secured at its opposite ends to the bar 30at respectively opposite sides of the bracket 34 and extends around thebracket and the arm 35. A tension spring 40 is secured at one end to thehead 31 at a location spaced from the adjacent end of the arm 35 and isconnected at its other end to the bar 30 at the side of the latterremote from the bracket 34 by a suitable screw or pin 4|. This springacts to resiliently rock the arm 35 about the pivot pin 36 in adirection to move the gauge tip 38 carried by the arm away from theadjacent sides of the jaws l4 and 20 of the machine. An adjusting screw42 is threaded through a tapped hole 43 in the bracket 39 and bears atits inner end against the adjacent side of the arm 35 at a locationspaced from the pivot pin 36 to limit movement of the gauge tip awayfrom the jaws of the machine so that the gauge tip will be rigidly heldin proper position relative to the jaws when a heel blank is beingplaced between the jaws to properly position the heel blank relative tothe jaws.

A second bar 45 is rigidly secured to the standard l6 at the side of thelatter remote from the bar 30 and projects outwardly from the standardabove the upper jaw 20 of the machine. At its end remote from thestandard, this bar is provided with a socket 45 having two spaced apartend walls 41 and 48 and a bottom wall 49. A U- shaped roller carriage 50is pivotally mounted in the socket 46 by a pivot pin 5| extendingthrough registering apertures in the end walls of the socket and in theintermediate or bight portion of the roller carriage and a roller 52 isdisposed between the legs of the carriage and journaled on an axle pin53 extending coaxially through the roller and through registeringapertures in the carriage legs near the outer ends of such legs.

The roller 52 is positioned in the path of the adjacent edge 01' thehead 31 on arm 35 and is supported by the bottom wall of the socket 46in a substantially horizontal position beyond which it cannot move asthe head moves downwardly past the roller. The roller and carriage can,however, pivot upwardly when the head moves upwardly past the roller sothat the head can pass the roller in an upwardly direction withoutmovement of the head.

Operation With the above described attachment in place on the heelshaping machine, and assuming that the handle 22 is in its uppermostposition sepparating the jaws l4 and 20, a heel blank, as illustrated inFigure 7 and indicated at 55, is placed between the upper and lower jawsof the machine. This blank is generally rectangular in shape, havingflat, substantially parallel side walls and an end wall disposedoutwardly of the jaws and substantially perpendicular to the side walls.With the handle 22 in this upper position, the bar 30 will be swungabout the pivot bolt 3| to bring the gauge tip 38 opposite the spacebetween the upper and lower jaws of the machine and the head 31 on thearm 35 will be disposed below the roller 52. Under these conditions thearm will be moved by spring 40 to its limiting position against theinner end of screw 42 and the gauge tip will be held in proper positionso that when the adjacent side of the heel blank is brought against thegauge tip with the wedge end of the blank against the guide 28, the heelwill be properly located between the jaws of the machine. This greatlyfacilitates proper positioning of the blank between the jaws, and whenlenemas the blank has been properly placedwith' 'o'n'e side against theadjacent side of thega'uge' tip "38, the handle 22 is moved downwardlyto move the up-' per jaw toward the lower jaw l land clamp the blankbetween these jaws. Asthe'handle is moved downwardly the bar 39 isrocked aboutthe pivot bolt 3|, raising the arm 35. As the head 31 passesthe roller 52, the roller and carriageill are raised out of the way ofthe head so that the'hea'd passes the roller without'movement of thehead or the arm relative to the bar 30. When the handle has been presseddownwardly to its limiting downward position in which it'lo'ck's theupper jaw in'clamping relationship to the lower jaw, the gauge tip willhave been raised wellabove the upper jaw frame IS, as is particularlyillustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 4, so that it is not in the way of'therotary cutters as these cutters engage the heel blank to shape the heel.

The machine carriage i i is now moved to bring the heel blank intoengagement with the rotary cutters to shape theheel and, after theh'eelhas been shaped, the carriage'and the machine head are returned to theloading and unloading position in which the blank is spaced from thecutters. The handle 22 is now manually raised to release the upper jaw20 from the shaped heel, the upper jaw, upon release by the handle,being moved away from the heel by the tension spring 21. As the handleis raised the bar 30 is rocked about the pivot screw 3| to lower the arm35. At the time at which the lower end of the gauge tip 38 isapproximately half way between the upper and lower jaws of the machine,the head 31 engages the roller 52, the carriage having been returned bygravity to its substantially horizontal position. As the roller cannotnow move out of the way of the head, the head will be forced away fromthe bar 45 and the gauge tip 38 will be kicked inwardly toward the heelresting upon the lower jaw l4 and will move the heel off of the lowerjaw, thereby ejecting the heel from the machine. As downward movement ofthe handle is continued, the head 31 passes below the roller 52 and thegauge tip 38 is returned by spring 40 to its gauging position at whichit enables the operator to properly position a new blank between thejaws of the machine.

The attachment of the present invention thus materially increases theproductive capacity of the machine by assisting the operator in properlypositioning a new blank between the the jaws of the machine and inautomatically ejecting a shaped heel from the machine at the terminationof the heel shaping operation.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects asillustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention beingindicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoingdescription, and all changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embracedtherein.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a heel shaping machine having a lower jaw frame,a lower jaw carried by said frame, a standard adjustably secured to saidframe, an upper jaw frame pivotally mounted on said standard, an upperjaw carried by said upper jaw frame in opposition to said lower jaw, anda handle pivotally mounted on said standard and engaging said upper jawframe to releasably lock said upper jaw in position relative to saidlower jaw cia'mp-s-neer mnk betweensaid jaws'and to release "said'upper"jaw frame "to free a heel from engagement "b'y'fs'aici jaws, *a barpivotally mounted intermediate its length on' sa'id standard and havinga longitudinally extending slot near one end, a pin'onsaidhandle'received in said slot w impart rocking movement to said bar when saidhandle is'movedto move said upper jaw relative to said lower jaw, saidbar, said han'dleand's'aid upper: jaw 'fr'aine being movable aboutsubstannany -p mueraxes," a laterally projecting bracket on said barnarthe'otherendof the latter, an arm pivotally mounted "near one end "onsaid brac' cet for'rocking movement about an axis substantially'at rightafigl'esto'the axis of rocking movement of said bar and "extendingsubstantially er enu1 u1ar'1y or said her from -said bracket toward saidlowerjaw, a flat headon said one end "and "agau'ge up on the other endOf 'Said arm, spring means acting between said bariahd said armies i'ntl'y urging said gauge tip away from'said jaws, adjustable stopmeans'atin bieiwe nij 1'5 induced inovrnent'of said arm to a positionrelative to said bar at which said gauge tip is properly locatedrelative to said jaws to accurately position a heel blank between thejaws as said upper jaw is moved toward said lower jaw, a second barrigidly secured at one end to said standard and having a socket at itsother end, a roller carriage pivotally mounted in said socket forpivotal movement about an axis substantially perpendicular to the axisof movement of the first mentioned bar, and a roller carried by saidcarriage in the path of the adjacent edge of said head, said socketlimiting pivotal movement of said roller carriage to an angle ofapproximately degrees so that said roller will move said head in adirection to force said gauge tip toward said jaws and eject a heel frombetween the latter as said upper jaw is released by said handle formovement away from said lower jaw but will ride over said head withoutmoving the latter when said handle is moved to force said upper jawtoward said lower jaw to clamp a heel blank between said jaws.

2. In combination with a heel shaping machine having a first jaw, meanssupporting said first jaw in heel carrying position, a standard carriedby the jaw supporting means, a second jaw pivotally carried by saidstandard in opposition to said first jaw for movement toward and awayfrom the latter, and a handle pivotally carried by said standard formanual movement in one direction to lock said second jaw in heelclamping position relative to said first jaw and in the oppositedirection to release said second jaw for freeing a heel from betweensaid jaws, a bar pivotally mounted on said standard and movable by saidhandle, an arm pivotally mounted on said bar, a gauge tip carried bysaid arm at a location spaced from said bar and movable by the latter toa location opposite the space between said jaws when said handle ismoved to its jaw releasing position and to a location spaced from saidjaws when said handle is moved to its jaw locking position, spring meansacting between said bar and said arm resiliently urging. said gauge tiplaterally away from said jaws, adjustable stop means acting between saidbar and said arm limiting spring induced movement of said gauge tip to alocation at which said gauge tip constitutes a guide for accuratelypositioning a heel blank between said jaws, a projection on the end ofsaid arm remote d bar'and' said arm limiting spring from said tip andextending from" the side of said arm adjacent said standard, and abodycarried by said standard and engaging said projectionat the edge ofthe latter remote from said arm as said handle is moved toward its jawreleasing position to force said gauge tip against a heel disposedbetween said jaws and eject such heel from between the jaws when saidsecond jaw is released by said handle.-

3. In combination with a heel shaping machine having a first jaw, meanssupporting said first jaw in heel carrying position, a standard carriedby the jaw supporting means, a second jaw pivotally carried by saidstandard in opposition to said first jaw for movement toward and awayfrom the latter, and a handle pivotally carried by said standard formanual movement in one direction to lock said first jaw in heel clampingposition relative to said first jaw and in the opposite direction tofree said second jaw for releasing a heel from between said jaws, a barpivotally mounted on said standard and movable by said handle, an armpivotally mounted on said bar, a gauge tip carried by said arm at alocation spaced from said bar and movable by the latter to a locationopposite the space between said jaws when said handle is moved to itsjaw releasing position and to a location spaced from said jaws when saidhandle is moved to its jaw locking position, spring means connectedbetween said bar and said arm urging said gauge tip outwardly of thespace between said jaws, adjustable means carried by said bar andengaging said arm to limit movement of the latter by said spring means,and means carried by said standard and engaging said arm as said handleis moved to its heel releasing position for forcing said gauge tipagainst a heel disposed between said jaws to automatically eject theheel from between the jaws.

EDMUND C. BUTLER.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,787,615 Cook Jan. 6, 1931 1,787,642 Sawyer Jan. 6, 1931

